Field Hockey downs Brown, snaps losing streak

The Quinnipiac field hockey team defeated Brown University on Wednesday, downing the Bears 3-1 at the QU Field Hockey Turf Complex.

Danielle Allen scored her sixth goal of the season to start the scoring for the Bobcats, finding the back of the net on a rebound 3:04 into the first half.

Alexis Miller then found the back of the net for Brown to tie the game with 22 minutes left, but Quinnipiac fought back to reclaim the lead.

“Fight for five,” Allen said. “When a team scores on us in the next five minutes we say fight for five. Just play your all-out for five minutes and work to get the ball back in the net, regroup, and regain control of the game.”

Angie King did just that, scoring less than four minutes after Brown’s goal to make it 2-1 Bobcats. It was King’s first career goal, and ended up being the game-winner for the Bobcats.

Savanna Reilly would tack onto the lead at 66:40, scoring to give Quinnipiac a 3-1 advantage.

With injuries to three different starters, the Bobcats had to rely on some new faces to pick up the slack.

“We are nursing some injuries and some sickness, so for us this was a great character win,” Quinnipiac head coach Becca Main said. “Our veterans really stepped up. Megan Conaboy, Megan Osanitsch and Danielle Allen really made the opportunities for our freshman to step in and play significant time. I’m really proud of the cohesion and unification in terms of how we played.”

The defense stepped up big in the game as well, according to Main.

“They were very smart, very composed, and really did a nice job forcing weak shots for us,” Main said. “We really have worked from game to game on our man-down situation. What happens when you’re playing three on two and you’re the two? What happens when it’s four on three and you’re the three? Today I saw a commitment.”

Heading into conference play on Friday, the premise of playing on turf for the first time all season while dealing with various injuries will be a significant challenge.

“This team likes to be the underdog, this team likes to play catch up,” Main said. “Hopefully they will embrace that and show up. It’s going to show character, and it’s going to show grit playing on that type of field.”

Quinnipiac will use the win as a foundation for the conference games to come.

“Every game is about improving,” Allen said. “It’s about building. Today was a great win for us, and now we have to take this level of play and bring it to the next level on Friday, build off of what we did well, and work on what we need to work on to keep moving forward from here.”

With the win, the Bobcats improve to 4-7 on the season. Quinnipiac returns to action on Oct. 10 at Siena College.